Teachers

Why is SEL Important for Teachers?

Teachers know that all learning is inherently social and emotional. A classroom is an intricate web of identities, life experiences, learning styles, and personalities. To ignore these factors is to do a disservice to the educational experience—for everyone. Teachers and students bring their whole selves to school each day, and by intentionally integrating SEL practices, you’re ensuring the instructional environment and classroom conditions are optimized for well-being, connections, belonging, teaching, learning, and thriving.

As a teacher you have the ability to cultivate a community of care in your classroom. Teachers are the touchstone: a consistent presence and source of support across a wide spectrum of concerns and needs. By implementing and integrating SEL in your classroom, you’ll build trusting and transformative relationships with students, families, administrators, and support staff. You’ll also model an approach to learning that strengthens a sense of self, acknowledges and celebrates diversity, bolsters participation and engagement, embodies resilience, and nurtures real belonging.
SEL is a shared, communal responsibility. Everyone plays an important part in growing and maintaining the SEL ecosystem. Read on to learn ways to practice SEL in your classroom and school community, and to dive deeper into the extensive research on SEL’s positive effect on classroom climate, academic culture, and community-wide transformation. While the work of SEL is a process and takes time, sustainability requires all of us to remain purposeful and intentional about SEL implementation, integration, and practice.

Essential Questions

For Teachers

Integrating SEL in your work asks you to dive deeper into your “why” as an educator and change-maker. Here are a few offerings for deeper reflection and meaning-making as you consider the unique context of your classroom community.

How does attending to my personal well-being support the well-being of my students? Colleagues? Families?
What assumptions or biases do I need to check in order to cultivate inclusivity, belonging, and care in my classroom?
How does my identity influence the way I show up for students? Colleagues? Families?
How do I ensure that ALL my students know that they are cared for and supported in my classroom?
What are the classroom structures and routines that I need to cultivate in order to restoratively respond to challenging situations?
How do I know if my go-to responses are perpetuating or ameliorating inequities? Am I ready to let go of responses that do not serve the pursuit of collective well-being? Why or why not?

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SEL Practices for Teachers

Model

Model equity-centered SEL and well-being through embodied practices, such as attending to personal care, and maintaining a stance of curiosity, reflection, and vulnerability (e.g., sharing your own anxieties about math or struggles with self-doubts may support your students to navigate similar concerns).

Integrate

Integrate SEL into academic content and instruction (e.g., using literature to analyze characters’ motivation, sense of perspective, empathy, or social situation; or expand on a difficult math lesson to reflect on the importance of perseverance and persistence, etc.).

Facilitate

Explicitly facilitate the development and practice of SEL skill-building (e.g., integrate calming areas into the classroom to encourage self-awareness and support students’ emotional regulation and sense of agency).

Co-construct

Co-construct classroom experiences with students and families at the beginning of each year (e.g., create shared agreements for the year together).

Engage

Engage in continuous improvement practices by regularly inviting feedback from students and families about their experiences in your classroom (e.g., integrating a brief pulse survey on classroom experience on a regular basis).

Establish

Establish welcoming routines and engaging structures that promote positive climate and culture, such as relationship and community-building activities (e.g., regularly practice the 3 SEL Signature practices: Inclusive Welcome, Engaging Strategies, and Intentional Closure).

SEL Learning Modules for California Educators

As part of the CalHOPE statewide planning team, UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center developed six SEL learning modules that can be accessed for free by any education professional or community member in California.

Each module includes research-based SEL strategies and practices, videos of SEL in action, and additional resources. The modules are designed to be used by individuals for their own personal learning or for professional development, including facilitation tips, with groups of educators, parents, and others interested in SEL.

Topics

Caring for Ourselves: The Science of Emotional Resilience
Safety & Belonging in Classrooms and Schools
Teaching for Social, Emotional, and Academic Development
Committing to Racial Equity and Cultural Responsiveness
Addressing Trauma and Adversity: Supporting Student Mental Health
Supporting SEL through Family and Community Engagement
Mindfulness and Well-being for Educators + Students (Purpose, Self-Compassion, Kindness, Gratitude, Awe, Courage, Empathy, Mindfulness, Humility,
Forgiveness + Hope)
Mindfulness and Well-being for Parents + Caregivers (Self-Compassion, Empathy, Mindfulness, Compassion, Purpose)

How to Access

Create an account on Greater Good’s website.
Log in to your account.
Once you are logged in, click here to access the modules

You can also watch this video to learn how to access the modules:

Basics of SEL Mini-Course

As part of the CalHOPE project, Greater Good has also made its Basics of SEL Mini-Course available for free to all California educators.

In this brief course you’ll be able to do the following:

Experience SEL practices
Learn the latest SEL research
Consider current opportunities and challenges in the field of SEL
Receive a discussion guide for cohorts of educators who wish to take the course together